Still the Price thing would be a good stand alone piece so I might try to work it into Blue in the Air sometime in the near future.

Of course perhaps the Geordie Boy was just having a try-out for what later gelled as the jaunty desperation of the Jarrow Song?

(Just finishing the last chapter of Maconie’s Pies and Prejudice, where he’s dealing with Geordies and sundry South Tynesiders, and recognising the Sassenach members of my family in his pen portraits).

According to iMDB Philip & Vanessa were Canadian (!!!!!).

“…once the “ooh, I remember this one!” thrill has faded, all you’re left with is a rather slight, anaemic confection; nicely turned in several respects, but with some shrill, jarring qualities which tend to jar ever more with repeated listens. It also loses points for disobeying Pop Law, by failing to rhyme fire (FYE-yah!) with desire (diz-EYE-yah!).”

(Sorry I’ve been away, folks. I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say about “Lonely This Christmas”, then the wind changed and I stayed that way…)

My Scotland was buzzing in 1974-78 - new sense of political self-confidence, Nats doing well, the national football team qualifying for the World Cup while England was at home twiddling its thumbs;-) Pilot are a genial part of the jigsaw of my then happiness, and for that I thank them.

The host album, Second Flight, is one I still play today and enjoy with a sort of comfort-blanket nostalgia, and I’m not quite sure whether this or Magic was my first-ever purchase from Itunes. In the canon of great Scots intros its up there with the famous saxophone riff from three years hence that heralds the intro of a certain record by my (post-amalgamation) school’s most famous alumnus.